They Said It: Quotes from the MNT in Sao Paulo

MNTJan 16, 2014

U.S. MNT forward MIKE MAGEEOn traveling to Brazil
:
“The first week’s great so far. Everyone’s training really hard, and it’s nice to get playing early. The flight was a bit of a disaster, but it’s good to
get out here on the training ground and get all the junk out of the way.”

On FC Sao Paulo’s training facilities
:
“It’s amazing! The field is great and there’s so much history here. Jurgen was telling us this is one of the best football clubs in the world and one of
the most historic ones. So, to get here to the training ground, have a look around, and see some of the photos and stuff, it’s pretty special.”

On the progression of the team in the first week of training
:
“The first couple days, guys are kind of walking on egg shells, not really sure of their place, but it’s a group of great guys. The more time we spend
together, it’s going to keep getting easier and easier.”

U.S. MNT midfielder DAX MCCARTYOn the team’s first week of training
:
“It was a great first week in L.A. Really high intensity training sessions. We kept it to one training session a day, plus some gym work in the afternoon.
The fitness testing went really well. All the guys came in really fit. I think that’s why they brought everyone down here. Guys took care of themselves in
the offseason.

“The training sessions have been good, really sharp. There’s been a lot of playing, a lot of touching the ball, and as players that’s all you can ask. You
don’t want to do all the fitness, and any player will tell you that fitness with the ball is much better than fitness without the ball.”

On the Sao Paulo FC training facility
:
“It’s beautiful. You can tell they take really good care of their facility. The grass is perfect - there’s really no other way to describe it. You feel
really secluded and you have all the amenities here you need to really recover and get in some really good training sessions.

“Our first session was good. It wasn’t too heavy, but definitely was a session to get the legs going. One thing you really notice down here is just the
heat. The sun feels a lot more powerful. We’re going to have to make sure we’re staying on top of our nutrition, our hydration and all that fun stuff. I
know all the guys are really excited to be down here and to play a couple scrimmages.”

U.S. MNT defender CLARENCE GOODSONOn traveling to Brazil
:
“It’s good. It was a long day of travel yesterday, but it’s good to finally be here and get the lay of the land. I’m sure we’re going to have a lot of fun
these next 12 days.”

On the team’s first week of training
:
“It’s been good for both myself and the team. Everyone came in and did a good job. Everyone was quite fit, so that has allowed us to play from pretty much
day one rather than have to concentrate on fitness, which is what you want in a January camp.”

On the team’s upcoming scrimmages against Sao Paulo FC
:
“We want to try and play. We want to play our game, get ahold of the ball and maintain possession as much as possible against a very good team. Brazilian
teams in general have a lot of possession, and we’ll try to match that, try as much as possible to dictate the flow of the game and of course, continue to
work on our fitness.”

U.S. MNT defender SETH SINOVICOn the Sao Paulo FC training facility
:
“It’s exciting. I’ve never been here before. Obviously it’s one of the bigger clubs not only here but in the world. So, it’s exciting to be training here.”

On the team’s first week of training
:
“It’s been pretty intense. Obviously, everybody is coming back from a long season. Everybody came in very fit and is trying to prove themselves. I expect
it to be that way the rest of the way through.”

On how the team is coming together
:
“For the most part everyone knows each other pretty well and everybody is getting pretty comfortable. It’s a fun group of guys to be around.”

On the five players from Sporting Kansas City included on the camp roster
:
“It’s awesome. There’s an immediate comfort level that comes with it. I’m excited for those guys and the success they’ve had. We’re all excited to be here
and hopefully prove the quality that Sporting KC has.”